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American Morning
First GOP Face-Off; Protection For Obama; Iraq Conference; How'd The Candidates Do?; Minding Your Business
Aired May 04, 2007 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: Party of 10. This morning, revelations from the Republicans' first debate.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Republicans spent most of the time on the defensive, but I thought there were some memorable moments.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think parts of it were excruciating.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Where they stand on Iraq, abortion and gay rights. We're live with the candidates, the analysts and the best political team on television.
Plus, early protection. Why the secret service moved in on Senator Barack Obama, on this AMERICAN MORNING.
And good morning to you. It is Friday, May the 4th. I'm John Roberts.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Kiran Chetry. Thanks so much for joining us.
It's funny, we're talking about Obama, Senator Barack Obama, the Democratic candidate, or one of them, after the night of Republicans.
ROBERTS: Yes, absolutely. You know, there's just so much going on here on the presidential front that I don't know if we can jam it all in, in three hours, but we will try.
CHETRY: We will.
ROBERTS: The debate, of course, is big news this morning. Good substance, even giving the size of the field. Ten candidates out there. But were they focused too much on the past and not enough on the future? We'll kick that around this morning with Bill Schneider and lots of other folks from the debate.
CHETRY: That's right.
Also on our radar this morning, another black eye for the Veterans Administration. There's reports out that the big shots got huge bonuses despite a budget shortfall and, of course, all of the problems. You have wounded vets waiting in line for hours to see a doctor, while some of the big shots were getting big bonuses.
ROBERTS: Not playing well this morning.
Queen Elizabeth II is in Virginia. She was at Jamestown yesterday helping to celebrate the 400th anniversary of really what was the founding of this nation. We're going to check in on preparations for her visit to the Kentucky Derby tomorrow.
CHETRY: She already has the hat, right, for the Kentucky Derby?
ROBERTS: Well, you know, there's a betting site that's actually placing bets on what color hat she's going to wearing tomorrow and whether or not it will have a feather. We'll give you the favorites.
CHETRY: How about that.
Also, "Spider-Man 3." You're into it.
ROBERTS: I'm a fan.
CHETRY: You've had a chance to see it, right? Well, no, not yet. You will.
ROBERTS: I will.
CHETRY: Fans lined up at theaters at midnight. The movie is going to have the biggest opening weekend of all time. That's what they're saying. They're the predictions right now. And the record is currently held by "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest." That one raked in 135 million last summer.
ROBERTS: And there's, of course, a "Pirates of the Caribbean 3" coming out. Will it be able to measure up to number one or number two or will it be "Spider-Man 3"?
CHETRY: There's also some video out this morning that we want you to take a look at. It's David Hasselhoff like you've never seen him before, videotaped by his own daughter, we believe. And it's troubling actually to watch. We're going to show you more on that a little later in the show.
ROBERTS: What is he . . .
CHETRY: He's eating.
ROBERTS: Well, yes. We'll get the story behind that coming up in just a little while.
Two minutes after the hour now. We begin with the debate, Republican style. The 10 GOP presidential candidates squaring off for the first time last night. We know a bit more now about where they stand on the war on Iraq, immigration, abortion and other social issues. Our senior political analyst Bill Schneider is our Friday morning quarterback. He's live in Los Angeles.
Bill, can it be said that there was a winner and a loser in this debate?
WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I don't think there was a clear winner in the debate. I thought Rudy Giuliani acquitted himself quite well. He seemed very self-confident when he gave his answers, explained his record, defended it. He was out of line with some of the other Republicans on social issues. He, I think, projected a sense of self-confidence that was impressive.
On the other hand, it could also be worrying because, look, Americans have had a very supremely self-confident president for the last seven years and that bothers some people because they said they believe this president, President Bush, never has many doubts, he's very stubborn, he's very unresponsive. So it's not clear that that particular quality is going to be something Americans are looking for in the next president.
ROBERTS: You know, Bill, as we said at the top, there was a surprising amount of substance given the fact that there were 10 people on stage and the answers were kept so short. John McCain kept on going back to this idea of the budget pork barrel spending. Let me play a little bit of an answer that he had to one question and then we'll get you to talk about that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: There are a whole variety of programs that need to be cut and I would start in cleaning up defense acquisition. The cost overruns associated with the purchase of our weapon systems is completely out of control. There's $160 million combat ship that is now $400 million. We've got to get that under control first. Let's stop the pork barrel spending.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: So McCain is saying that he's going to be a fiscal conservative if he's elected president. He kept coming back to this idea, too, of Ronald Reagan and the line item veto. You know, in terms of where he is economically, did he show the most substance of all of these candidates?
SCHNEIDER: Well, I think he did show a lot of substance to Republicans. This was a debate among Republicans. The audience were Republican voters. And they are very angry. They're very upset over the big government conservativism of the Bush administration, which is exactly what McCain was talking about. A lot of Republicans out there believe the reason they lost the 2006 election was because of the deficit, because of all the spending and that the party has wandered away from the principles of Reaganism. And McCain was clearly responding to that point and that complaint, very deeply felt among Republicans.
ROBERTS: You know, one thing I noticed last night, Bill, is that Mitt Romney seemed to have a very good answer for just about everything.
SCHNEIDER: Yes, he did, particularly when he was asked a question about the catholic church. He's not a catholic. He's a Mormon. Was asked about whether the government should have any role in who the catholic church denies communion to. And he immediately answered very, very skillfully in a pointed answer, that he didn't think the government should have anything to do with the way a church conducts its own affairs. And then he reversed it very quickly and said, I don't think the church should have anything to do with the way a government conducts its business, Thereby defending the concern -- himself from the concern that a lot of people have that the Mormon church would somehow dictate his policies.
ROBERTS: Bill, great perspective. Thanks for getting up early for us, by the way, or staying up, whatever the case might be. We'll let you go have a nap now. We appreciate it.
SCHNEIDER: Sure.
CHETRY: You know, he's right. And Romney did make a joke about it. He said, I don't tell Roman Catholic bishops to do anything and he got a chuckle from the crowd.
ROBERTS: Yes, he was very smooth. The question I had, was he too smooth?
CHETRY: Yes, well . . .
ROBERTS: I like my candidates with a little rough around the edges.
CHETRY: Well, we're going to talk about it much more because we have a couple more people, including the person who ran Ronald Reagan's campaign back in 1994.
ROBERTS: Yes, Governor Tommy Thompson will be with us as well to answer some more questions about his answer to that question about, would he allow employers to fire somebody just because they were gay or lesbian.
CHETRY: That's right.
All right. While, meanwhile, Senator Barack Obama is now being protect by the secret service. It's the kind of protection that's usually offered to major candidates about 120 days before the election. CNN's Jim Acosta is with us now.
And this is the earliest a candidate has gotten protection from the secret service. What's going on?
JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, right now, Homeland Security is saying there is no specific threat. The secret service is saying that Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff made this request after consulting with the special congressional committee that handles these matters. And that committee and Homeland Security right now aren't talking about why they wanted this extra protection for Obama. But Illinois Senator Sick Durbin confirmed that he made the request to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, saying Obama was drawing larger than was expected at this stage of the campaign and that there were concerns about what was being said about Obama in hate mail to his campaign and on certain websites.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. DICK DURBIN, (D) MAJORITY WHIP: Unfortunately, some of the information that we found was racially motivated. And it is a sad reality in this day and age that Mr. Obama's African-American heritage is a cause for very violent and hatred -- hated reactions from some people.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ACOSTA: And Hillary Clinton already has secret service protection after being first lady of the United States under the presidency of her husband. And Joe Lieberman, as a matter of fact, had additional protection in earlier stages of his campaign. And just to draw the contrast, John Edwards and John Kerry had protection in February of 2004, that's nine months before where we stand right now.
Kiran.
CHETRY: Wow. So it is the soonest. And they also said that part of it was just a feeling among the campaign when they're seeing how huge these crowds were that had been coming to see him speak.
ACOSTA: Massive crowds. Yes, that's right. And it's not really expected. The other candidates aren't seeing that right now, although, you know, I suppose if you're Barack Obama's campaign, there might be a positive spin to this development.
CHETRY: The rock star status that he brings with him when he comes to speak.
ACOSTA: Exactly. But the campaign doesn't really want to talk about this. This is not their favorite subject to talk about. But I think they're glad this morning that they're going to have this extra protection.
CHETRY: Jim Acosta, thanks.
ROBERTS: Halfway around the world, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has yet to meet with the Iranians at the international conference in Iraq. She is in meetings right now. And she did spend 30 minutes with the Syrian foreign minister yesterday. She spoke with our Zain Verjee who is with the secretary in Sharm el- Sheikh, Egypt.
Zain.
ZAIN VERJEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey there, John.
It was a significant and rare meeting on the sidelines of this conference here at Sharm el-Sheikh. U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice met with the Syrian foreign minister, Walid Muallem. And she described her conversations with him as substantive and very business like and professional. She said the talks really concentrated on what Syria can do to stabilize Iraq. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CONDOLEEZZA RICE, SECRETARY OF STATE: I talked to him about the flow of foreign fighters across that border, a major source of suicide bombers, we believe. And he said that he understands that Syria has no interest in an unstable Iraq. But, of course, actions speed louder than words. And I'm hoping that they will carry through.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VERJEE: The Syrians also asked Secretary Rice at that meeting whether the U.S. ambassador could go back to Damascus. He had been pulled out awhile ago. But Secretary Rice really replied, saying, look, let's just focus on the issue at hand. She said, we don't want a bad relationship.
As you know, John, for the last two years, the U.S. government has really put Syria in a deep freeze. It's been isolated. The reasons are, firstly, because it accuses Syria of destabilizing Iraq, destabilizing the situation in Lebanon, which is a fragile democracy and they're backing what they call terror groups Hamas and Hezbollah.
John.
ROBERTS: Does this represent a real shift in policy, Zain?
VERJEE: It does because for the reasons that I just mentioned, that the U.S. government has isolated Syria, they've lost the high level -- contact the U.S. government had with Syria was a couple of years ago when the Lebanese prime minister, Rafik Hariri, was assassinated. They broke off any contact. Syria has been accused of having a hand in that. And the Syrians have denied it. So this is a significant change and Secretary Rice has really opened the door here.
ROBERTS: OK. Zain Verjee for us live in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt. Appreciate it, Zain.
And, of course, Kiran, the question now is, will that olive leaf, olive branch extend out now to Iran as well?
CHETRY: Iran. All right.
ROBERTS: Yes, that's the big question.
CHETRY: You're right.
Well, they have some explaining to do for sure. Congress demanding answers now from the Veterans Administration about the million dollar bonuses that were paid, in some cases, to senior V.A. officials. Total payday, $3.8 million. V.A. budget officials got an average bonus of about $33,000 each. All the while, overseeing a $1 billion shortfall. And care for veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan strained. A top bonus went to the deputy under-secretary for benefits. The same department that has a backlog of unpaid claims, takes an average of five months for a vet to get benefits. The chairman of the House Oversight Budget Committee plans to investigate. Well coming up, another celebrity dad caught on tape. This one is David Hasselhoff like you've never seen him before. He responds to a troubling video taken by his 16-year-old daughter.
Also, giving and getting the royal treatment this morning. Queen Elizabeth is in America, along with our own Richard Quest.
RICHARD QUEST, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you.
When you see headlines like "A Right Royal Treat," you know it can only be one thing. The queen's in town. I'll have the details of what her majesty's up to when AMERICAN MORNING continues in Jamestown.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE, "THE NAKED GUN": So, as the Angels take the field, we're about ready for the first pitch ceremony with the queen of England ready to toss out the first ball.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How about that queen, ladies and gentlemen?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Yes, how about that, queen? Putting the royal spin on that pitch in the movie "The Naked Gun." But, of course, the real royal highness is now in the U.S. marking the 400 anniversary of the first settlement in Jamestown. And CNN's Richard Quest is over here with Queen Elizabeth. He is live in Jamestown, Virginia, this morning.
Hi, Richard.
QUEST: Good morning to you, Kiran.
Yes, the queen is here. Her majesty arrived at Richmond Airport yesterday afternoon. Everything going pretty much according to plan. There were a few hiccups getting the stairs to the plane. But the queen came down, gave an address to the Virginia assembly, and things went by and large pretty much according to plan.
The queen rested well overnight in Williamsburg, at the Williamsburg Inn, and today she is going to be here at Jamestown, historic Jamestown and Jamestown settlement. And what she will be looking at and what she will be seeing -- and I know from what I've heard from the palace what the queen is very keen to see is the original archaeological dig that shows the fort where the settlers first put down here back on May the 13th down in 1607.
The queen does not come light handed. Not a bit of it. You may have liked the pink and gray hat that she wore yesterday. But you ain't seen anything yet when it comes to her majesty. There's hats galore as we saw coming off the plane yesterday at Richmond Airport. There was hat boxes. Just look at them. No doubt every single -- I've seen this before, Kiran. When the queen travels, there is vast amounts of luggage. And let me tell you, they don't just wrap it all up into a carry-on that will fit in the overhead compartment. It's all on hanging garment bags that -- with boxes and luggage tags and they've all got a nice little tag on them that just simply say "the queen."
Now then, this is how they are talking about events here in Jamestown. "A royal treat" is the way "The Daily Press" is putting it this morning. Lovely picture on the queen and the Duke of Edinburgh on the front page. And pages. Look at that. I can tell you that when she has lunch today, there will be flowers galore. Soft blue wood (ph) hyacinths, flame coral flowers, that I can never pronounce the name of, green snowball bush blooms. That's how they're putting it over here.
But look at how they report these sort of things back in England, Kiran. It's all a lot more sedate because every day there is this thing known as the "Court Circular." It is basically the official record of what her majesty, the queen, is doing. The "Court Circular" is in all the major newspapers, Buckingham Palace, "the queen and the Duke of Edinburgh left Heathrow Airport. They were received by -- and on it goes.
And I can tell you, because I know this is important, you'll want to know who's traveling with the queen. Who is her lady in waiting on this trip? It is none other than the Countess of Arly (ph).
CHETRY: Pretty neat. All right. Well, with all of those hat boxes, it's going to be fun to try to figure out which one she's wearing for the Kentucky Derby, of course, known for the hats.
QUEST: Absolutely. It will be a big one and it might even have a feather.
CHETRY: All right. Richard Quest, great to talk to you. Thanks so much.
Well, the Virginia governor's office is also giving some free advice on royal etiquette so you can brush up if you happen to bump into the queen. For example, when the queen enters a room, everyone stands. You are not expected to bow. You should wait for the queen to extend her hand before going in for a shake. And hats are acceptable in her presence before 6:30 p.m. So we should be fine at the derby tomorrow. Also, women wearing gloves can keep them on before meeting or shaking hands with the queen.
Did you get all that, John?
ROBERTS: I got all that. And the one big foe pa (ph) never to do, a woman in D.C. did it back in 1991, don't hug the queen.
CHETRY: Don't hug. Do not hug her.
ROBERTS: Don't hug the queen.
Eighteen minutes after the hour. How is the weather going to be in Jamestown today for the queen's visit and for the derby tomorrow? Let's turn to Chad Myers. He's in the CNN Weather Center in Atlanta.
Good morning, Chad.
(WEATHER REPORT)
ROBERTS: It was the first full-fledged debate for the GOP presidential candidates. All 10 of them. So how did the three front- runners distinguish themselves? Or did they? John Harris is the editor in chief of Politico.com. He was one of the questioners last night and he joins us now live from Simi Valley, California.
Are you still up, John, or did you get some sleep?
JOHN HARRIS, EDITOR IN CHIEF, POLITICO.COM: I stayed up, in fact, John. Good morning.
ROBERTS: Oh, all right. Good for you.
Hey, who do you think did the best job of selling themselves last night?
HARRIS: Well, I thought Mitt Romney, who's introducing himself to most Americans who are not familiar with him. Certainly John McCain and Rudy Giuliani, better known. I thought he gave a very polished, forceful performance that clearly is going to attract a lot of second notices.
ROBERTS: McCain was really the only one that seemed to try to actively run away from President Bush. His answer on stem cell research, do you think that that's going to hurt him further with conservatives?
HARRIS: It might. Although he certainly went out of his way to give reassurance that he is pro-life, as most conservative activists in the Republican Party are. There is a divide on that issue and stem cells. I think it's a little more complicated than the sort of black or white abortion divide that Republicans have seen.
He gave a pretty good performance as well. A little halting at the beginning. Took awhile to find his voice. But at the end, he did pretty well, too.
ROBERTS: Yes, I thought he looked a little more wound up or jumpy than usual. Maybe he was just getting used to the format. You asked the question that really got the only wow answer of the night when you went to Tommy Thompson and said, would you support an employer who wanted to fire an employee because they were gay or lesbian? Were you surprised when he basically said, yes?
HARRIS: A little bit, I was. And he clearly was a little bit surprised by the question. You could see the wheels turning on stage as, you know, as if he was going to say, how am I going to handle this curve ball? But he basically said, yes, that that's OK with him.
ROBERTS: What about Rudy Giuliani's position on abortion? Let's take a quick listen to what he said in response to a question and then I'll ask you about it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RUDY GIULIANI, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: In my case, I hate abortion. I would encourage someone to not take that option. But ultimately, since it is an issue of conscience, I would respect a woman's right to make a different choice.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Try to embrace Reagan Republicans, which is what that was all about last night at the library. Was that an answer that those conservatives wanted to hear?
HARRIS: Well, clearly it's not an answer that people who are opposed to abortion rights, which is many in the Republican Party, would want to hear. You know the conventional wisdom on abortion is that you need to take a clear stand. You can't straddle this. And that's why his answer might have been a little weak.
I think it's notable, however, that Sam Brownback, who is one of the most ardent social conservatives in the race, said, look, he could handle a nominee of the party that didn't agree with him on abortion rights and he, as so many did, cited Ronald Reagan and the so-called 80/20 rule. That if somebody's 80 percent with you or your friend, you don't make an enemy out of the remaining 20 percent.
ROBERTS: Right. John, thanks very much. Good job last night, by the way.
HARRIS: I enjoyed it. Thanks, John.
ROBERTS: All right. We'll see you soon. Bye.
HARRIS: See you soon.
KR: Well, the summer of super heroes is upon us. "Spider-Man" swinging back into theaters. And he just might catch a new opening weekend box office record.
Also, David Hasselhoff captured on camera by his own daughter. Pretty disturbing when you get to see the entire thing. And you will when AMERICAN MORNING comes right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Twenty-seven minutes after the hour now. Another celebrity father has a red face this morning. This time it's former "Baywatch" star and recovering alcoholic David Hasselhoff. His 16- year-old daughter shot this video three months ago. It was shown on "Extra" last night.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Tell me you are going to stop.
DAVID HASSELHOFF: I'm going to stop.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Promise?
HASSELHOFF: No.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes?
HASSELHOFF: Mmhumm.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Hasselhoff told the Associated Press that he's doing much better now and that that tape was never meant to be made public. He's, obviously, been in treatment. And that might have been the thing that sort of pushed him toward it. My goodness.
CHETRY: Yes. We should have shown a tiny little bit more of that because he says that he asks his kids to videotape him so that he can see what he acts like when he's drunk because he needs to, you know, learn from it.
ROBERTS: IT's got to be traumatic for the kids to see them like that, too, even if they're trying to help him by videotaping him.
CHETRY: I would think so. I would think so.
ROBERTS: That would leave an indelible impression on you.
CHETRY: It is upsetting to see, but he claims it's old and that he's back on the wagon again.
ROBERTS: No, it's not that old. It's only three months old.
CHETRY: All right.
Twenty-seven past the hour now. Ali Velshi is "Minding Your Business."
And you say you're sort of like a stat keeper in baseball, talking about the longest streak for the Dow.
ALI VELSHI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I was, you know, telling you yesterday, this is like a recording. I'm telling you the Dow hit another record. It did again. And it does become a bit like baseball stats because you have to find reasons why this is different from the last one.
Well, here's the interesting thing. Let me show you what all the markets did yesterday. The Dow was up again 29 points at 13,241. The Nasdaq was up, too, a six and a half year high, at 2,565. It's not going to get to its record any time soon for any of you who own those four-letter tickers because the Dow was -- I mean the Nasdaq, it will be about 100 years before it hits its record.
But the S&P 500 might be the story there. First time in more than six and a half years over 1,500. It is now about 25 points away from its all-time high.
Now this streak on the Dow, 22 of the last 25 sessions, it has been up. Back in 1944, it was up 23 of 26 sessions. So if the Dow were to close up today, it breaks another record in terms of being sort of the winningest streak in all that amount of time.
Some things could throw this off today. We're expecting a jobs report at 8:30 a.m. Eastern. We are expecting the unemployment rate to tick up just a little bit. And, of course, we've got those ongoing problems about houses and gas prices. But for those of you invested in the market, yet another win on the Dow.
We will be back with more of that information a little later on. A little more detail.
ROBERTS: You've got to wonder if people are going to take profits at the end of the week today and maybe it goes down just a wee bit today.
VELSHI: Well, after these kind of streaks, people seem to think, well, how long can this go on for? It's a good question.
ROBERTS: Get it while the getting is good.
VELSHI: Yes.
CHETRY: Ali, thanks so much.
Well, the top stories of the morning are coming up next.
The 10 Republican candidates, they took to the stage last night. Where do they stand on the key issues? And did Rudy Giuliani's explanation of his position on abortion help him or hurt him with conservatives? We have analysis coming up.
Also, turning a source of pollution -- garbage -- into clean energy. We're going to show you how next on AMERICAN MORNING. The most news in the morning is right here on CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: Ten men for president. Republican candidates square off in their first big debate. So, who scored? Who stumbled? And who is blaming bad hearing on an answer that outraged gay rights advocates on this AMERICAN MORNING.
And good morning to you. It is Friday. It's May 4th. I'm Kiran Chetry.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm John Roberts. Thanks very much for joining us.
Lots of stories on our radar this morning.
CHETRY: The secret service is now going to be protecting candidate Barack Obama. This is the earliest in the campaign that they've ever needed to do this or felt the need to do this because of some -- no specific threats, but because of some e-mails and hate mail that have been coming into his campaign.
ROBERTS: Yes. This was what Alma Powell was worried about when everybody was pushing her husband, Colin Powell, to run for president. They would get these threats and that his life might be in danger, so secret service stepping in here, as Kiran said, earlier than ever in one of these campaigns.
We also have an incredible survival story this morning. Wait until you see this. A woman stops on a bridge to check a flat tire. An SUV side wipes her and throws her over the side. The dramatic rescue of that coming up ahead.
And if you've got anything that you want to know about the news, the stories that we cover or how we cover them, we want to hear from you. Ask AM. E-mail us. Send us your questions or suggestions at am@cnn.com. We'll be picking some of them, finding out more, giving you the answers as we go along here on this AMERICAN MORNING. Questions as simple as the one that Rudy Giuliani got last night at the debate. What's the difference between a Sunni and a Shiite? Happy to answer that for you.
Democrats again struggling to come up with a plan for funding the Iraq War. The House is looking at a plan that would provide funds through July. Benchmarks for Iraq would kick in after that. In the Senate, talk of funding through September. The biggest issue continues to center on the troops and whether they should be brought home if those benchmarks aren't met. Congressional leaders and presidential aides are set to meet again next week.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is having limited success in getting Iran and Syria to help stabilize Iraq. She is in Egypt for the second day of an international conference on Iraq and is due to leave this morning. This morning our time. It's already afternoon there.
The secretary spent 30 minutes with the Syrian foreign minister yesterday. With the Iranian foreign minister she "exchanged pleasantries" over lunch. But at dinner, he walked out when she sat down. Now the Iranians say that wasn't because of her. That the Iranian foreign minister was upset by a dress that a violinist was wearing. The secretary of state outlined her goals at the conference to our Zain Verjee yesterday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CONDOLEEZZA RICE, SECRETARY OF STATE: We're not seeking a bilateral with Iran, nor are they seeing one with us. But the real breakthrough is that we're all here together at this conference to support Iraq. And Iraq's neighbors have a -- not just an obligation, but really a tremendous self-interest in seeing a more stable Iraq. And that really is the message that's been here in these halls.
(END VIDEO CLIP) ROBERTS: Talking with the Syrians look like a real shift in administration policy. The White House has been taking an awful lot of heat from critics for not engaging Iran or Syria to help with Iraq.
CHETRY: Well, 10 Republican candidates for president spinning a measure of victory this morning, but were there any real standouts in last night's first GOP debate? Joining me to talk about it, Republican strategist Ed Rollins.
Thanks for being with us. Good to see you.
ED ROLLINS, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: My pleasure. Thank you.
CHETRY: Who did you like last night?
ROLLINS: I thought Romney did very well. I think sort of for the first impression a lot of people have of him, he's charming, he's smart, he's articulate. You know, I think they're all serious men. I think there's only three serious candidates on the stage.
CHETRY: And who was that? Who where they?
ROLLINS: You know, obviously Giuliani and McCain. And I thought Giuliani basically handled himself well on some of the foreign policy stuff and added a little bit to his credential. John McCain is a great man, is not a great debater. And I think that he looked too intense last night and I don't think he did anything to move himself back in the arena.
The second tier, I don't think anybody broke out. I think Governor Huckabee, obviously he's an articulate guy. And I think, you know, Duncan Hunter, some of the others showed well, but I don't think any of them moved to the first tier.
CHETRY: One of the things that all the candidates had in common last night, that was invoking Ronald Reagan's name. Let's listen.
MITT ROMNEY, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Ronald Reagan was a president of strength.
RUDY GIULIANI, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: They looked in Ronald Reagan's eyes and in two minutes they released the hostages.
SEN. SAM BROWNBACK, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Ronald Reagan principal that somebody that's with you 80 percent of the time is not your enemy.
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Ronald Reagan used to say, we spend money like a drunken sailor.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: You know, you led Reagan's campaign, of course, and you know his ideals better than almost anyone. Is anyone like Reagan in this crowd? ROLLINS: No, and no one should try and compare. I mean, Washington was a great president. Lincoln was a great president. Teddy Roosevelt was a unique president. Ronald Reagan was a unique man at a unique time. And I think Republicans would be foolish to try and compare anybody to him. There's some good people in this field and I think, to a certain extent, it's not finished yet and I'm sure someone else will get in.
CHETRY: But wouldn't it be a good thing to try to model yourself after the way he was able to get things done?
ROLLINS: No question. Ronald Reagan had an ability to reach out and bring Democrats and independents certainly to the Republican Party and support it, and certainly could reach out to members of the other party to gut success on The Hill.
CHETRY: A lot of conservatives on the blogs and in some of the papers today are jumping on Rudy Giuliani this morning for what they're calling a major misstep when he was asked the question of whether Roe v. Wade should be overturned. Let's listen to what Giuliani said.
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GIULIANI: It would be OK to repeal it. It would be OK also if a strict constructionist judged viewed it as precedent. And I think a judge has to make that decision.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Would it be OK if they didn't repeal it?
GIULIANI: I think that -- I think the court has to make that decision and then the country can deal with it. We're a federalist system of government and states could make their own decisions.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: He's the only one on stage who said it would be OK if Roe v. Wade was not overturned.
ROLLINS: He is a pro-choice Republican and has been very clear all the way through. So I think when you're on there with nine others who are all very pro-life, you know, I think he gave the best answer he could. But the bottom line is, that's not going to be one of his strengths among conservative voters. And in the end of the day, they may not -- it may not matter that much. It may be more about leadership and, obviously, that's what he has great strength.
CHETRY: Is he get -- you're saying the fact that he's pro choice may not affect him for the conservatives?
ROLLINS: I think in the end of the day, conservatives are going to vote for who they think can win and who's the strongest leader. And I think the singular issues, although important, may not be the overwhelming issue.
CHETRY: Interesting. Ed Rollins, always great to see you. Thanks for coming in.
ROLLINS: My pleasure. Thank you very much.
ROBERTS: Coming up, we're going to talk with Governor Tommy Thompson, former governor of Wisconsin. One of his answers on stage last night getting a lot of play this morning. Did he really mean people could be fired for being gay?
And turning garbage into gold. Taking out the trash, taking it into the dump, using it for energy.
You're watching AMERICAN MORNING. The most news in the morning is on CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Coming up now on 43 minutes after the hour. Extreme weather again. And Chad Myers in the Weather Center in Atlanta.
Who's in the cross hairs today, Chad?
(WEATHER REPORT)
CHETRY: Well, one of the biggest polluters of the atmosphere comes from methane gas. It also causes the stink that you smell near landfills. Well now some communities are starting to capture that smell and turn it into fuel. CNN's Rob Marciano is in one of those towns this morning, LaGrange, Georgia, southwest of Atlanta.
Hi, Rob.
ROB MARCIANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Kiran.
As you know, the U.N. panel for climate change released its third report today, advising policymakers and governments on what they can do to help mitigate climate change. One of the biggest problems, as you mentioned, at landfills is the emissions of methane, a big-time greenhouse gas. A lot of landfills across the country just burn it off, much like the torch you see behind me. But here in LaGrange, they have a better solution to the problem. And not only does it help the environment, but everybody's making money.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MARCIANO: Mounds of garbage decomposing. Landfills produce huge amounts of methane. It's the second most abundant greenhouse gas. And a whopping 20 times more potent than CO2. But here, at this capped landfill, methane gas is taking on the sweeter smell of success.
I look around, all I see are pipes being drilled in the ground. Tell me what process is happening underneath the dirt here.
DAVE GUSTASHAW, INTERFACE INC.: You have an anaerobic (ph) digestion that's occurring in the ground, that the microbes are basically eating the garbage, in very simple terms. And as a result of that, in the absence of oxygen, it's generating methane.
MARCIANO: Methane David Gustashaw uses to run his carpet factory. And methane the local utility is happy to sell.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We pull the landfill gas in, clean it up, condition it, compress it and pipe it about nine miles to the customers.
MARCIANO: So here we are nine miles away and the methane is being pumped into your factory?
GUSTASHAW: That's right. This line has two energy sources. It has both electricity and natural gas or a gas requirement for processed heat to help us run the process. This is a direct -- what's called a direct gas use of landfill gas.
MARCIANO: Which is not only good for the environment, it's good for the bottom line.
You're saving 30 percent by using the methane from the landfill gas?
GUSTASHAW: Correct.
MARCIANO: And with the town owning the utility, the added revenue helps the community. So everybody wins.
GUSTASHAW: If a small business in a small rural town in Georgia can do this, I know others can do this as well.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MARCIANO: You know, they got it set up in a relatively short amount of time. Just under a couple of years for a cost of about a couple of million dollars. Now that revenue is going directly to the town. They figure they're going to have the project paid off in about five to seven years. After that, it's all gravy. A capped landfill like this will emit methane that they can use as energy for up to over 20 years.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MARCIANO: Now these wells are tapped into this capped landfill, just like you see here, sucking that methane out, pumping it to that compressor, cleaning it out and then sending it down toward customers. Now Landfill methane is a little bit different from your regular methane, which is, you know, almost 100 percent as far as natural gas. It does have a bit of a smell to it, Kiran, but that's where, when it comes to saving the environment, there's nothing quite like the smell of rotting garbage in the morning.
Back to you.
CHETRY: You're pretty brave. You're pretty brave standing that close. But, you know . . .
MARCIANO: It's not so bad.
CHETRY: No, it's a great thing that they're able to harness that. So pretty cool story. Thanks a lot, Rob.
Coming up, the amazing rescue of a woman. She was knocked off a bridge when she got a flat tire, thrown into the water below. We're going to have more on her dramatic rescue.
Also, what are the blogs saying about the threats to Barack Obama and his new security detail? We're going to take a look at that as well when AMERICAN MORNING comes right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Welcome back to AMERICAN MORNING.
We have an amazing story to tell you about today. This is unbelievable. It has a happy ending, though. A driver pulled over on a bridge in Jacksonville, Florida, after her tire blew out. It's the worst possible place it can happen to you, on a bridge. She got out to see what happened when a humvee drove by and sideswiped her car.
It knocked her off the bridge. She fell 20 feet into the water. Well, a police officer jumped from a helicopter, rescued her and she did not even need to go to the hospital. There she is talking about it right there. And that's the bridge. She got very lucky, to put it lightly.
ROBERTS: Yes, one amazingly lucky woman. Incredible.
JACKI SCHECHNER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Not a whole lot, too, people pull over to fix a tire and then they get . . .
ROBERTS: It happens a lot that people get knocked off into bridges.
SCHECHNER: Not bridges.
ROBERTS: Bridges into water and then police have to jump out of helicopters to -- it's an every day occurrence.
SCHECHNER: You're being difficult.
ROBERTS: Sorry.
SCHECHNER: No, when you pull over to fix a tire and then somebody . . .
ROBERTS: Yes, no, I see people. It happens on the beltway outside of Washington a lot, too.
Hey, it's coming up on 52 minutes after the hour. Senator Barack Obama now being protected by the secret service. The kind of protection is usually only offered to major candidates about 120 days before the election. Our Jacki Schechner has been looking into what the security entails. What are you finding out about it?
SCHECHNER: Well, I learned a little this morning from the secret service website. You were talking about 120 days. It's major presidential and vice presidential candidates. A hundred and twenty days of a general presidential election. Their spouses, too. So think about how early this is when we're talking about, like, you know, four months at that point. We're talking about 18 months.
ROBERTS: A year and a half.
SCHECHNER: Yes, a little long here. And what it says is that the protection is comprehensive. It's also meticulous advance work. It's threat assessment. It's not just the bodyguards surrounding Barack Obama. So there's a lot that goes into it.
Other candidates, I found out, can ask for protection under certain guidelines. Here are those guidelines. They must be announced candidate. They have to be actively campaigning in at least 10 states. And they have to have some degree of prominence in the polls. So there's the loophole there.
ROBERTS: You know, he qualifies on all those.
SCHECHNER: Well, he does.
ROBERTS: As do a number of different people, too, including Giuliani, Mitt Romney, John McCain. They all qualify for it as well.
SCHECHNER: Well, Hillary Clinton already has it because of her husband.
ROBERTS: Yes.
SCHECHNER: So that was another person. Now as far as blog reaction is concerned, it's sort of mixed. Interesting. Good or bad. Another campaign first for Obama. Also America talking about having an ugly underbelly without getting too specific, that perhaps there's some racial component to this. He would, in fact, be the first African-American president and maybe there's a . . .
ROBERTS: I think Dick Durbin from Illinois, who was the guy who actually asked for the protection, elicited yesterday that there were some racial overtones to some of these circumstances.
SCHECHNER: Yes. I mean without specifically saying it. There's also some discussion -- Rush Limbaugh lately has been making some jokes at Barack Obama's expense and he had said that they were innocuous at the time, but some people are saying, in light of this, maybe they weren't so harmless after all.
ROBERTS: Yes, what was that -- that song that he had on the other day?
SCHECHNER: Yes, I'm not going to say it, but, yes, it was not pretty. And then other people just talking about the taxpayer money that goes into it. You know, celebrities pay for their own security detail. Should this be taxpayer money that goes into protecting Barack Obama this early on?
ROBERTS: All right, Jacki Schechner, good information. Thanks very much.
SCHECHNER: Sure. A lot of fun.
CHETRY: Well, it could be the shot in the arm Americans have waited for. Cheaper prescription drugs. But how? Well, Ali Velshi will tell us. He's "Minding Your Business" coming up next.
Also, a group of kids think that Kid Rock rocks. How he came to the rescue, coming up.
You're watching AMERICAN MORNING. The most news in the morning is right here on CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Well, a group of high school girls think that Kid Rock rocks. The girls' golf team at Milan High School in Michigan discovered that their clubs had been stolen from their coach's car. Nasty, nasty, nasty. Kid Rock, real name Bob Ritchie, heard all about it. He's a Michigan native. He called his buddy, pro golfer John Daly. Daly told him to call club maker Taylor Made. Taylor Made came through with six new sets of clubs so now all those girls can grip it and rip it.
CHETRY: How great. He's a nice guy.
ROBERTS: He is.
CHETRY: A lot of people say that he takes time to shake hands with the fans and he's very nice. That's always refreshing.
ROBERTS: I remember the first time that we went to Kosovo post- war with Bill Clinton and they were playing Kid Rock music in this auditorium as the Kosovo's were getting together to greet the president.
CHETRY: That's hilarious. Well, it pumps you up.
ROBERTS: And I thought we liberated Kosovo for this?
CHETRY: Yes, for that, among other reasons. But, I know, he's also really active in the USO. He does go on tour to sing to the troops.
ROBERTS: He is, as you can (INAUDIBLE).
ALI VELSHI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kid Rock, theme music for my report.
CHETRY: I was hoping for that. We'll try to work on it for the next hour.
VELSHI: I'll do a beat box in the meantime.
All right. So we got -- we're "Minding Your Business" on prescription drugs. The whole prescription drug importing debate is back on the table. The Senate could move. Senator Byron Dorgan would like to add to a bill about the FDA the provision that allows Americans to import their drugs from Canada or other places. Obviously this isn't legal now. It was going on for a while. The government sort of stepped in to stop it. The idea is that drugs from Canada and other places are substantially cheaper, common prescription drugs, than they are here in the United States. The opposition, of course, to this comes from a few quarters. The Health and Human Services Department says they can't certify that it's safe, these drugs that come in. That's largely been disproved, particularly since Americans were buying their drugs from certified pharmacies in Canada. That said, the drug companies say the same thing. They also say that that takes away from their ability to generate the money that it needs to come up with new drugs. Americans pay some of the highest prices in the world for their prescription drugs. But the drug companies say, that's why Americans get the best drugs in the world because that money that they pay pays for the research.
Not sure where this will go because the White House has said it has no interest in this amendment in allowing prescription drugs to come in, but we'll see. This is back on the Senate floor and we'll follow this development. You'll be sure that we'll tell you about it if it turns out you can import your drugs from another country.
That's it for me. I'll be back with more stuff on the stock market because, as I recall, there's been another record. But the next hour of AMERICAN MORNING starts right now.
ROBERTS: Ten for '08.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ED ROLLINS, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: I think they're all serious men. I think there's only three serious candidates on the stage.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Republicans square off in their first presidential debate.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN HARRIS, EDITOR IN CHIEF, POLITICO.COM: Mitt Romney, I thought he gave a very polished, forceful performance.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Did they leave a mark on the minds of the voters.
Plus, heightened security. The secret service called in to protect Senator Barack Obama. The cause for concern on this AMERICAN MORNING.
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